South Alabama coach Wommack will become Alabama’s defensive coordinator
Published 9:16 am Wednesday, January 17, 2024
- South Alabama head coach Kane Wommack points to the crowd during a game against Tulane this past season.
South Alabama coach Kane Wommack resigned Tuesday and is headed to Alabama to become defensive coordinator for coach Kalen DeBoer.
South Alabama athletic director Joel Erdmann told The Associated Press that Alabama is “getting an amazing human being who sincerely cares for his players and his team and those surrounding the program.”
Erdmann said Wommack is “a very savvy tactician defensively and runs schemes that in my opinion offensive coordinators don’t like going against.”
“They’re getting a very, very talented young man,” he said.
Wommack did not immediately return a text or phone message from the AP. He told AL.com that DeBoer being “one of my best friends in this profession” helped make it too tempting an offer to pass up. He said DeBoer called Monday and said, “Are you ready for this?”
“I knew that him and I have been working for an opportunity like this and we always dreamed about doing it together and had no idea that this would be the opportunity, but it just feels like the stars have aligned for a number of us to go do something really special at Alabama,” Wommack told AL.com.
DeBoer, who was hired away from Washington last week to replace Nick Saban, and Wommack worked together as assistants at Indiana in 2019 under Tom Allen. DeBoer was offensive coordinator and Wommack defensive coordinator.
The 36-year-old Wommack has been head coach at South Alabama for three seasons, going 22-16 overall and 13-11 in the Sun Belt. He led the Jaguars to their first bowl win last season, a 59-10 victory over Eastern Michigan in the Lending Tree Bowl.
Erdmann said there was mixed feelings among South Alabama players and staff.
“As would be expected, there’s disappointment but also a very tangible sense of gratitude for what Kane has done in his time here,” he said. “And a sense of congratulations to him for his new position. It is a weird combination of disappointment but also appreciation for Kane’s service.”
South Alabama’s defense ranked 22nd in the country in yards per play allowed (5.01) in 2023, tied with Alabama.
DeBoer is expected to bring most of his offensive staff from Washington, including play-caller Ryan Grubb, to Alabama.
Former Auburn QB Ashford commits to South Carolina
One-time Auburn starting quarterback Robby Ashford has committed to South Carolina, he said Tuesday.
Ashford posted his pledge to the Gamecocks on social media, saying, “Gamecock Nation, whatever it takes, let’s do it.”
Ashford spent the past two seasons at Auburn. The 6-foot-3, 218-pound passer from Hoover, Alabama, was the Tigers starter in 2022. He threw for 1,613 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. Ashford also ran for 710 yards and seven scores.
Ashford was a backup in 2023 under first-year coach Hugh Freeze, appearing in 10 games with one start. He passed for 145 yards and two touchdowns last season.
Ashford began his career at Oregon, where he spent two seasons but did not see any action.
He will bring experience to South Carolina’s quarterback room, where Oklahoma transfer Spencer Rattler had been the starter the past two seasons.
Promising sophomore LaNorris Sellers is expected to compete to replace Rattler as starter this season. Sellers appeared in four games this past season, completing two of his four throws for touchdowns.
Linguist resigns as Buffalo coach to join DeBoer’s staff
Maurice Linguist informed the University at Buffalo on Tuesday that he is resigning as football coach following three seasons and after agreeing to join Kalen DeBoer’s staff at Alabama, a person familiar with discussions confirmed to The Associated Press.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the discussions were private, and DeBoer has not yet announced his staff upon leaving Washington to coach the Crimson Tide. ESPN and The Athletic first reported Linguist’s departure.
Without going into detail, Buffalo athletic director Mark Alnutt announced Linguist’s departure in a three sentence release, while adding the school had launched a national search for his replacement.
The abrupt move comes two months after the Mid-American Conference Bulls under-performed in finishing with a 3-9 record.
The Bulls opened with four straight losses, including a 40-37 loss to FCS Fordham. After winning three of four, Buffalo closed the season with four consecutive losses in which the team was outscored by a combined margin of 98-44.
Linguist had an overall record of 14-23 at Buffalo, including a 7-6 finish in 2022. The Bulls closed that season with a 23-21 win over Georgia Southern in the Camellia Bowl.
The 39-year-old Linguist took over at Buffalo in 2021 after Lance Leipold was hired by Kansas. Linguist spent the 2020 season as a defensive backs coach with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and had just been hired to become a co-defensive coordinator at Michigan before landing the job in Buffalo.
Florida hires Roberts as executive head coach
Florida announced the hiring of veteran defensive assistant Ron Roberts on Tuesday, adding the former Auburn coordinator to coach Billy Napier’s staff in hopes he can help lead a woeful unit back to prominence.
Roberts was named executive head coach, co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He reunites with Austin Armstrong, the team’s 30-year-old defensive coordinator who struggled at times last season. Armstrong considers Roberts a mentor.
The 56-year-old Roberts fills an opening that was created when linebackers coach Jay Bateman left to become Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator in late December.
Roberts spent last year at Auburn after three seasons at Baylor. The Bears led the Big 12 with 27 takeaways in 2021, including 19 interceptions, as they won the conference title and beat Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl to finish 12-2.
The Gators ended the 2023 season on a five-game losing streak, with the defense bearing the brunt of the criticism. The unit allowed 38.2 points a game during the skid. Florida ranked 122nd (of 133 teams) nationally in yards per play and were next to last with 20 pass plays of 40 yards or longer.
After Florida ended the season with a loss to rival Florida State, Napier fired secondary coach Corey Raymond and defensive line coach Sean Spencer. Napier also reassigned his strength coach and fired his nutritionist.
Napier has since hired Will Harris to replace Raymond and Gerald Chatman to replace Spencer.
Ohio State hires Texas A&M athletic director Bjork
Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork has been hired at Ohio State to replace longtime athletic director Gene Smith, who will retire July 1.
Ohio State leaders announced Bjork’s hiring on Tuesday.
The 51-year-old Kansas native, who has more than 30 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics, has been at Texas A&M since 2019.
Before that, he was the athletic director at the University of Mississippi. He also served on the athletics staff at Western Kentucky, UCLA, Miami (Florida) and the University of Missouri.
“Few athletics directors have established such an impressive and strong record of success in athletics, in the classroom and throughout the community,” said Ohio State president Walter “Ted” Carter Jr., who began his own tenure at the university on Jan. 1.
“The bar is incredibly high at Ohio State, and we have found in Ross a highly intelligent and effective leader — not to mention a fierce competitor,” Carter said.
At Texas A&M, Bjork helped guide leaders in the Texas legislature in the development of the new NIL law. He also oversaw the creation of programs to equip student-athletes with education and resources related to finance, personal branding, networking and media training.
“To be a part of Buckeye Nation, along with its storied traditions and long history of achievement, is a tremendous honor and a welcome challenge for me and our family,” Bjork said. “I can’t wait to get started.”
The nationally influential Smith is in his 19th year at Ohio State, running one of the largest and most successful athletic programs in the country.